Rumours, of course, started to swirl when Treliving was spotted at the Leafs game in Toronto against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Given Hamilton’s relationship to the Toronto area (he played junior in Niagara and grew up in Toronto) coupled with his rocky start to the 2016-17 season, the Maple Leafs’ rumoured interest in the top-four blueliner, and the fact the Flames were set to square off with the Leafs on Wednesday, the dots started connecting.

“It’s interesting,” said the Flames general manager. “I was at a game in Toronto — and I wouldn’t read anything into that, I go to a lot of games. But don’t believe everything you hear. Dougie’s an important part of this team. It’s hard to find players of his ilk. I don’t put a whole lot of stock into those comments. We always look to improve our team.

“Comments that we’re shopping particular individuals are totally false. It just seems like you show up in one place and things start to happen. It’s natural.”

Just a few weeks ago, Hamilton’s name was discussed as a possible trade chip — a report from Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos on Hockey Night in Canada.

At the time, the Flames had lost four straight and, at 5-10-1, were the first NHL outfit to reach double digits in the loss column. Hamilton was minus-10 in that four game span.

Since then, the 23-year-old has turned around his game significantly. He’s playing more physical and has found stability on a defensive pairing with Mark Giordano. He has been making smarter decisions with the puck and cleaner first passes out of the defensive zone. His shot helps their powerplay and Calgary’s offence in general. Hamilton leads the team with 66 shots on net and is tied with Cam Atkinson for 26th in the league (and fourth among NHL defencemen).

“I think he’s been terrific,” Treliving said. “You can go down our lineup … when you have the record we have, it means individuals have stubbed their toe along the way. But I think he’s played excellent for us. I think he’s found some real stability and found a base in his game. We need that going forward.”

Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan agrees.

“For me, with Dougie, he’s from the area and we play (the Leafs) and of course those things always seem to come up,” he said. “I think he’s just been fantastic for us. He’s played some big minutes against some heavy guys. I just really like that pairing. They’ve come into their own.

“As for the rumours, I don’t really acknowledge those. Dougie is a big part of our group and I like the way he’s playing.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time Hamilton has heard his name.

“I’ve definitely heard all of it and I think I’m pretty used to it by now,” Hamilton said. “I’m used to rumours. You just have to keep playing. It’s just noise. It doesn’t really affect me too much … there are always rumours but I just need to play.”

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Thankfully for the Flames, there are signs of progress with Gaudreau and his broken finger.

Prior to Wednesday’s morning skate, the left-winger was on the ice with Lance Bouma who is recovering from a shoulder injury. The players were both working on their shots with assistant coach Martin Gelinas.

Both joined rest of the Game Day group for the first time which is positive.

The original timeline for Gaudreau was six weeks of recovery time since he suffered the injury on Nov. 15 and underwent surgery in the following days. That schedule puts him back in the lineup around Dec. 27.

The good news is Gaudreau is able to skate while he recovers. Right now, he's working on his range of motion and still trying to decrease the swelling in his finger.

“It’s feeling better,” Gaudreau said. “I’m excited to be back out there with the guys. We did a few adjustments for the vibration when you shoot the puck. We put a little extra medical tape on it and worked around with the gloves a little bit. I’m just trying to get used to everything."

As of Wednesday, his return to action is still unknown.

“It’s really encouraging where he’s come so far,” Treliving said. “The procedure that was done was really stable. He’s got some hardware in there that makes it pretty stable, probably more stable than the other nine fingers right now. That gives added protection … but still you have to go through the healing process. But it’s nothing but encouraging.”

Meanwhile Bouma, who was injured in Calgary's Nov. 5 game at Los Angeles, is ahead of schedule. Treliving said he plans on getting the Flames’ doctors to evaluate him on Wednesday night.

“Lance is coming along real well,” Treliving said. “With the way Lance plays, he bangs and crashes and mucks around in there. So you have to make sure he’s able to do that. But he’s encouraging too.”